GHD and SLA teaming up to deliver major infrastructure design for Toronto's newest island

TORONTO, June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GHD, a leading global professional services company, and SLA, a renowned Danish nature-based design studio, have been awarded the role of prime consultant by Waterfront Toronto for phase one of infrastructure and streetscape design for a new island community. Formerly known as Villiers Island, Ookwemin Minising is a new island born from one of the world’s most ambitious flood protection and river restoration projects. A historic gathering place, the Don River will be at the heart of this future community. Planned to be home to more than 15,000 people, the island will also be a destination where people will visit to relax and explore. The first new residents of this island community are expected to move in by 2031.

A once in a generation opportunity

For the project, GHD (prime consultant and technical lead) and SLA (design lead for urban realm and landscape) will deliver a bold new urban environment that honours the legacy of the Don River through an approach rooted in resilient infrastructure, cultural memory and deep ecological integration. Drawing inspiration from global precedents and local Indigenous knowledge, the team’s “Growing Streets” concept proposes streetscapes that evolve like living ecosystems – simultaneously boosting biodiversity, sequestering carbon and reconnecting people with nature.

"This project represents a significant milestone for Toronto's waterfront revitalization," said Chris Hunter, GHD Chief Executive Officer for the Americas. "By integrating innovative engineering with responsive design, our team will help create infrastructure that's not just functional, but truly adaptive to community needs while honoring the ecological transformation nearing completion at the Don River mouth. This approach exemplifies our commitment to building resilient systems that evolve with the communities they serve.”

The team, which includes architects Allies and Morrison, will integrate design for streetscapes and public realm with a review of the density and built form on the island, building on years of planning to realize this new neighbourhood.

“Tri-government investment unlocked the potential of the Port Lands, allowing us to create a brand-new island,” says Chris Glaisek, Chief Planning and Design Officer at Waterfront Toronto. “Now, renewed investment in waterfront revitalization means this new island is ready to launch. By integrating design for streets and public realm with a review of built form on the island, this team can build on the planning done by the City of Toronto, Waterfront Toronto and CreateTO to deliver as much new housing as possible, while building a truly world-class neighbourhood.”

A living cityscape

At the heart of the team’s vision for Ookwemin Minising lies a next-practice model for climate-adaptive urbanism. Guided by seven core principles – including surface-level rainwater management, soil repurposing, native vegetation and social spaces that foster mobility and interaction – the design will champion active mobility through integrated pedestrian and biodiversity corridors woven throughout the island. These corridors can provide optimal microclimates for outdoor comfort while simultaneously managing storm water, linking and strengthening ecologies and connecting people with nature to support a sense of belonging, safety, community and place. Creating streets that allow for all life to grow and thrive together, now and in the future.

Informed by leading examples from cities like Copenhagen and London, the design will seek to maximize sustainability without relying on future technologies. Instead, it elevates the immediate power of nature to address urban challenges like flooding, heat and social disconnection.

“We’re thrilled to bring our Growing Streets vision to life in Toronto,” said Rasmus Astrup, Design Principal and Partner at SLA. “This is urban design at its most alive – where trees, water, wind, soil and people grow and flow together. The streetscape design of Ookwemin Minising is not just about infrastructure, it’s about creating a living cityscape that breathes with the seasons, nurtures biodiversity and supports everyday life in inspiring, joyful ways. In Ookwemin Minising, every street becomes a celebration – of the land, of the water, of our heritage and of all the life of Toronto.”

The infrastructure designs for Ookwemin Minising will incorporate generous plantings, nature-integrated public seating and climate-buffering vegetation to create a vibrant and adaptive civic experience. By exploring ways to place nature visibly and functionally at the forefront – such as potential innovative water systems that could make rainwater flows part of the aesthetic – the team envisions a design that would build public awareness of ecological processes while enhancing urban resilience and well-being. The vision embraces a holistic design approach that thoughtfully integrates street configurations, building scales and public spaces to create a cohesive and sustainable community.

Rooted in the values of the surrounding Port Lands and celebrating the area’s enduring industrial, maritime and Indigenous histories, the team’s design for Ookwemin Minising will aim to set a new benchmark for culturally and ecologically responsive waterfront development in North America.

Strategic collaboration

The project will be brought to life by a group of industry-leading consultants, including:  

1. GHD (prime consultant): Engineering design services, planning services, environmental services and construction administration
2. SLA: Design lead for urban realm and landscape
3. Trophic Design: Co-designer with SLA for Indigenous landscape design and knowledge
4. Transsolar: Sustainability and low-carbon infrastructure systems
5. Monumental Projects: Public engagement and community outreach
6. Level Playing Field: Accessibility services
7. Allies and Morrison: Architectural lead
   

The team brings significant experience from landmark Toronto projects including Downsview Framework Plan, Quayside, David Crombie Park revitalization, Alexandra Park Revitalization and Toronto Water and Transportation Improvements Program. Internationally, the team's design experience ranges from King's Cross London, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park London, London's Southbank, Sankt Kjelds Climate Square in Copenhagen, Abu Dhabi's Al Fay Park, the Bjørvika Harbour Revitalization in Oslo and the Earls Court Masterplan in London, King’s Cross and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.

About Ookwemin Minising

Formerly known as Villiers Island, Ookwemin Minising is a new island born from one of the world’s most ambitious flood protection and river restoration projects. With Port Lands Flood Protection complete, this is the first new community to be developed in the Port Lands, one of several new districts identified in the City of Toronto’s Port Lands Planning Framework. Ookwemin Minising will be a new waterfront community embracing its distinct industrial functions alongside spectacular new parks, public spaces and ecological features resulting from the naturalization of the mouth of the Don River. In January 2025, all orders of government invested CAD 975 million to accelerate the delivery of over 14,000 new homes on Toronto's waterfront, with first occupancy on Ookwemin Minising targeted for 2031.

About GHD

GHD is a leading professional services company operating in the global markets of water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation. Committed to a vision to make water, energy, and communities sustainable for generations to come, GHD delivers advisory, digital, engineering, architecture, environmental and construction solutions to public and private sector clients. Established in 1928 and privately owned by its people, GHD’s network of 12,000+ professionals is connected across 160 offices located on five continents.
www.ghd.com

About SLA
SLA is an internationally renowned nature-based design studio, working globally with cities, nature, people, and places. Based in Copenhagen, SLA has designed some of the most notable public spaces and masterplans in the world for 30 years. In Canada, SLA is the landscape architect behind projects such as the Downsview Framework Plan, Quayside and David Crombie Park. SLA comprises 130 landscape architects, architects, anthropologists, biologists, planting specialists, lighting designers and urban planners. www.sla.dk

About Allies and Morrison

Allies and Morrison is a practice of architects and urbanists based in London and working around the world. Winner of more than 50 Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Awards, we design beautiful buildings that have long life and can adapt over the generations. We also shape enduring places, new pieces of city or settlements at any scale. All our projects are concerned with the crafting of detail and an appreciation for the uniqueness of each context. Following several appointments in the city, we have recently opened a studio in Toronto. www.alliesandmorrison.com

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact:

Alex Mangiola
Pilot PMR
+1-416-460-3575
alex.mangiola@pilotpmr.com

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